China News Agency, Beijing, November 16th, title: China's high-speed rail "opens" to go abroad: Where is the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail "driving"?

　　Author Liu Wenwen

　　It starts from Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, and ends in Bandung, a famous tourist city, with a total length of 142 kilometers. The entire line adopts Chinese technology, Chinese solutions, and Chinese standards. This is Indonesia's first high-speed railway - the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway.

　　As a major infrastructure project implemented through friendly and pragmatic cooperation between China and Indonesia, the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway not only connects two major cities in Indonesia, but also witnesses the profound friendship between China and Indonesia.

　　"Friendship Train" Witnessing Friendly Relations

　　Long before the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, there was an old railway from Jakarta to Bandung built more than 100 years ago.

However, the existing railway line conditions are poor, the technical standards are backward, the equipment is aging, and the speed is only more than 50 kilometers per hour, resulting in long travel time and poor comfort for passengers.

　　Seven years ago, the heads of state of China and Indonesia witnessed the signing of cooperation documents on high-speed railway projects between the two countries in Jakarta.

Since then, with the joint efforts of the two countries, the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway has achieved phased results one after another.

　　"The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail is the result of close cooperation and joint efforts between the two countries. It is not an exaggeration to use the word 'struggle'." Xu Ningning, executive director of the China-ASEAN Business Council, told China News Agency that the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail is under construction. Encountered many challenges, such as epidemic obstacles, land acquisition difficulties, insufficient funds, complex geological structures... Despite this, the two countries still overcome various obstacles and overcome difficulties together.

　　At present, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway tunnel has been completely penetrated, and more than 92% of the civil works of the roadbed, bridges, and stations have been completed, and it has been fully transferred to the online construction stage.

It is reported that the maximum design speed of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail is 350 kilometers per hour.

After the completion and opening to traffic, the commuting time between the two places will be shortened from the current more than 3 hours to about 40 minutes.

　　Xu Ningning said that the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail is an important project for China to help and support the interconnection of ASEAN. It not only connects the two cities of Jakarta and Bandung, but also connects the friendship between China and Indonesia.

　　Zhang Xuegang, deputy director of the Institute of Southeast Asia and Oceania at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said that the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail embodies China's determination and strength to benefit neighboring countries.

China enjoys a good-neighborliness, peace-of-mind, and rich-neighborliness relationship with its neighbors. It is believed that more neighboring countries will hope to cooperate with China in technology and projects in the future.

　　The "Get Rich Train" on the Road to Prosperity

　　Many experts said that the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail has shortened the distance between the two major cities in Indonesia and brought new impetus to the economic development of the areas along the line.

　　In Zhang Xuegang’s view, the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway is a good project that will truly benefit the local people. “This road is a road to prosperity. Relying on infrastructure, it will speed up the circulation and operation of factor resources on the one hand, and drive related industries on the other. Improve the quality and upgrade, so as to promote the economic development and prosperity of the entire region along the route.”

　　"As the first high-speed railway in Indonesia and even Southeast Asia, the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway will bring great convenience to people's travel, and at the same time, it will also help the further development and construction of areas along the line, such as the construction of economic corridors, tourism development, and industrial park construction." Xu Ningning said .

　　Zhang Xiaotao, dean of the School of International Economics and Trade of the Central University of Finance and Economics, said that the driving effect of the opening of high-speed rail on economic and social development has been confirmed by the world and China's practice.

The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail will undoubtedly promote the rapid economic and social development of Indonesia and promote its industrialization and modernization process.

Considering Indonesia's important position in the Southeast Asian industrial chain, it will also drive economic growth in Southeast Asia in the future.

　　From the China-Laos Railway to the Jakarta-Bandung High-speed Railway, China's manufacturing and China Construction are going abroad at an "acceleration" and becoming Chinese business cards handed out to the world one by one.

　　Zhang Xiaotao said bluntly, "A batch of Chinese manufacturing represented by high-speed rail has successfully 'goed out', which is a strong proof that China's experience, Chinese wisdom, and Chinese model serve the development of the world economy."

　　"The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed ​​Rail is a vivid example of China helping and supporting ASEAN to improve infrastructure construction, improve connectivity and promote economic development. I believe that there will be more 'Javan-Bandung High-speed Rail' running in ASEAN countries in the future." Xu Ningning said.

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